Hawaiians Weigh Options As Native-Status Bill Stalls

By JANIS L. MAGIN

Published: June 11, 2006

CORRECTION APPENDED

This weekend Hawaii celebrates the birthday of the king who united the islands nearly 200 years ago. But as the colorful flower leis were draped over a towering golden statue of the warrior king on Friday, the people of the state remained divided over whether the federal government should grant recognition to Hawaii's native people.

The issue was dealt what may turn out to be a fatal blow by the Senate on Thursday, when a bill giving Native Hawaiians the same legal standing as American Indians and Native Alaskans failed to get the 60 votes required to bring it to the floor for debate. The tally was 56 to 41, with Republicans casting all 41 no votes.

It has been nearly six years since Senator Daniel K. Akaka, Democrat of Hawaii, first introduced the measure popularly known in the islands as the Akaka bill. Although modified since its first introduction in July 2000, the bill, titled the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act, proposes to create a governing body for the estimated 400,000 Native Hawaiians in the United States.

The new governing body would have the power to negotiate with the federal and state authorities over the disposition of thousands of acres of land and other resources taken by the United States when the federal government annexed the islands in 1898.

Supporters in Hawaii say the legislation is necessary to protect the native culture and to shield programs benefiting Native Hawaiians from legal challenges, but critics counter that it is race-based legislation that could lead to secession.

Robin Puanani Danner, chief executive and president of the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, said passage of the bill would be a continuation of the same recognition to Native Hawaiians that Congress has already extended to American Indians and Native Alaskans.

''It's the right thing to do for the people of Hawaii, native and nonnative,'' said Ms. Danner, who watched the Senate vote from the gallery. ''In short, this bill puts everybody in our state at the table.

''We're all after the same thing: the health, well-being and perpetuation of the Native Hawaiian community and culture,'' she said in a telephone interview from Washington. ''It's the source from where our state draws its identity.''

Kamehameha Schools, the private institution endowed by a Hawaiian princess's multibillion-dollar trust whose Hawaiians-only admissions policy has been challenged in federal court, issued a statement saying school officials were disappointed by the Senate vote.

''We will continue to collaborate with the educators and organizations who are committed to improving the well-being of the Hawaiian people at the perpetuation of our culture,'' the school's trustees said in the statement.

H. William Burgess, a lawyer in Honolulu and the leader of a group called Aloha for All, which opposes the Akaka bill, said millions of dollars had been spent by the state and other organizations promoting what he said was a bad idea.

''As people learn more and more about it, they realize how dumb it is, creating a race-based government,'' said Mr. Burgess, who also represents a group of plaintiffs suing two state agencies, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, whose programs benefit Native Hawaiians.

Richard Rowland of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii said a poll conducted by his organization last month found that nearly 70 percent of more than 21,000 Hawaii residents contacted by telephone said they would support allowing people in the state to vote on the federal recognition bill before Congress considered it.

Mr. Rowland said the poll ''told us that our elected officials are completely out of touch with their constituencies.''

''It just affirmed the fact that the people want to vote on it,'' he said. ''We found that two out of three residents of Hawaii are opposed to the Akaka bill, period. And last year we got almost the same thing.''

Mr. Rowland said he had not spoken to Mr. Akaka about putting the measure before the people.

''It never crossed my mind,'' he said. ''I think he's frozen in concrete in his approach. I think that no matter what happens, he's wedded to this idea, the Akaka bill idea.''

Mr. Akaka is meeting with his supporters to determine what to do next, said his spokeswoman, Donna Dela Cruz.

''Senator Akaka was more energized this week after the vote, which caught a lot of people by surprise,'' she said, adding that Mr. Akaka was thrilled to have a chance to explain the bill to his Senate colleagues. ''It was a victory for him just to talk about this issue on the floor.''

Mr. Akaka had prepared to do that last fall, after lawmakers returned to Washington from their August break, but legislation providing aid to victims of Hurricane Katrina pushed discussion of the Hawaiian recognition bill to the side. Concerns were raised by the Bush administration at the time over the need to include language protecting military installations in Hawaii and prohibiting casino gambling. The bill was amended so that the Pentagon would not face negotiations over its land and to prohibit gambling in the islands.

The sides also disagree about whether the bill is likely to be revived, either this session or next, when the new Congress convenes in January.

Meanwhile, on Friday, the golden statue of King Kamehameha I across the street from Iolani Palace, the nation's only royal residence, was draped with dozens of giant leis to mark the birthday of the king, the legendary monarch who united the Hawaiian Islands in the early 1800's.

Kamehameha Day each year is observed on June 11, although since that falls on a Sunday this year, the official state holiday is Monday.

Photo: Senator Daniel Akaka first introduced his bill some six years ago. (Photo by Dennis Brack/Bloomberg News)

Correction: June 14, 2006, Wednesday
An article on Sunday about efforts by Senator Daniel K. Akaka, Democrat of Hawaii, to win federal recognition for his state's native people misstated the given name of his spokeswoman. She is Donalyn Dela Cruz, not Donna.